Astronauts test home repairs

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Two Discovery astronauts completed a seven-hour space walk over
the weekend to restore a space station steering device and test
shuttle heat shield repairs that might give crews a better chance
of avoiding a Columbia-like disaster.

NASA extended the shuttle's visit to the outpost by a day
because the next trip will likely be postponed.

The astronauts Stephen Robinson and Soichi Noguchi finished all
the tasks assigned for their first space walk and had time for
extra work, such as retrieving a pair of science experiments and
photographing a loose insulation blanket near the commander's
window.

While NASA has no remedy for a hole the size of the one that
downed Columbia, engineers are developing materials that future
crews might be able to use to patch small but potentially
threatening areas.

Robinson and Noguchi spent the first part of their space walk
using a caulking gun, putty knives and other tools to fill cracks
in sample heat-resistant tiles and wing panel pieces that had been
deliberately damaged for the test.

The astronauts did not touch any of the minor damage caused
during lift-off to Discovery's heat shield.

"What a view," said Japanese astronaut Noguchi, as he stepped
out of an airlock.

NASA space-walk experts joked that the hand rail outside the
airlock had been dented from astronauts hanging on for dear life as
they experienced the moving kelp-like effects of seeing Earth 350
kilometres below.

But Noguchi and Robinson performed flawlessly on their
six-hour-50-minute space walk.

"We're proud to welcome Steve and Soichi to the hall of fame,"
said mission space-walk manager Cindy Begley, referring to a
hallway at the Johnson Space Centre, in Houston, lined with the
pictures of astronauts who have completed space walks.

The day began with the crew being awakened by a Japanese song
called Sanpo, which means strolling.